Low social status can paradoxically increase out-group admiration

Evidence

Subordinate groups often seem to internalize a wider social evaluation of themselves as “inferior” or “second class,” and this consensual inferiority is reproduced as relative self-derogation on a number of indices that have been used in the various studies. Consensual status itself—where subjective and accorded prestige are identical—is problematic for RCT, which conceptualizes prestige as a scarce resource, like wealth or power. Status differences between groups, like other inequalities, should tend to accentuate the intergroup conflict of interests. Therefore, according to RCT, the impact of low status upon a subordinate group should be to intensify its antagonism toward the high-status group (Thibaut, 1950). Yet, under some conditions at least, low social status seems to be correlated with an enhancement, rather than a lessening, of positive out-group attitudes. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2694

Categorization

• XREF: Reinforces the prior paragraph’s theme and connects to system justification theory later in this book.